Radio Squad | Origin | Early Jerry Siegel Tales | Social Commentary | Art by Chad Grothkopf | Later Tales
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These best stories of the comic books are preceded by their issue number.
The early Radio Squad tales are very short - usually just two pages. This is a typical length of many series in More Fun Comics. A two page story is roughly the same length as a Sunday comic strip page. So at this early date in comic book history, we are seeing something not that different from a comic strip. Despite its brevity, each Radio Squad tale is a full story. Siegel employs lapses of time, and a great deal of vivid detail in his episodes.
Pat likes to wear the long overcoats with the swirling skirts that were so popular among glamorous 1930's heroes, such as Alex Raymond's Secret Agent X-9. These too appear in the debut episode of Radio Squad, although worn by a villain rather than the hero. (One of the earliest Superman comic strips, January 28, 1939, shows the good-guy motorist who rescues the infant Superman from his burning rocket-ship, in one of these glamorous coats.)
Siegel and Shuster would repeat its central idea for the first Slam Bradley tale, in Detective Comics #1 (March 1937): both stories feature a working class detective hero who encounters and conquers a haughty spoiled wealthy woman. Stories like this were a big deal in the Depression, when so many men felt so poor, but they do not have much appeal today, and can be considered sexist. This story appeared just two years after Frank Capra's film It Happened One Night (1934), which featured a working class reporter and a spoiled heiress.
This tale does establish some core facts about the Radio Squad. Sandy's car is number K-7. We see Sandy's dressy, sharp police uniform, complete with Sam Browne belt. Sandy Kean is one of the macho hunks that serve as heroes in early Siegel & Shuster tales. This is underscored by his tough, sharp uniform.
Villainous gangster Dan wears one of those long 1930's glamour coats. He wears it with the collar turned up: a standard part of such coats' appeal. Dan also looks good climbing in the window.
The title panel has Sandy holding a Tommy Gun. The next page shows the gang's look-out men holding similar guns outside the mansion. (They are also in long coats.) Such guns symbolized both police and gangsters in that era. They also served as phallic symbols, asserting a violent form of masculinity. But they are somewhat atypical of Radio Squad as a whole. Furthermore, Superman will show a very different contempt for guns. The Superman comic strip (February 9, 1939) has a circle of mobsters attack Superman with their Tommy Guns. He is unharmed, of course, being invulnerable. He then wraps each mobster's gun around his neck. Superman's power over guns will be a recurring feature of his entire saga.
A tough bad-guy guard holds a Tommy Gun in the Federal Men tale "The Invisible Empire, Part 2" (New Comics #9, October 1936).
Sandy Kean has a knee up on the running board of the heroine's car (panel 5, page 1). And gangster Dan enters by putting a leg over a windowsill. Such assertive leg gestures are also phallic.
The gangsters report to a leader they call the Purple Tiger. When the villainous Purple Tiger actually shows up a few issues later, he is indeed wearing a purple robe and mask. The use of the word "Purple" indicates that Siegel was already "thinking in color", something he will do throughout his whole career. Comic books were already a color medium by 1936, and Siegel's writing will take advantage of this.
The Purple Tiger, Part 2 (#12, August 1936). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Joe Shuster. Doris Bailey is kidnapped by the Purple Tiger Gang. This story is best for a piece of high tech, which uses radio technology to track the package of money delivered to the kidnappers.
The Purple Tiger, Part 3 (#13, September 1936). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Joe Shuster. Hero Sandy Kean and Commissioner Bailey are captured by the Purple Tiger Gang. The overhead shot (page 1) of their car being cornered by two gang cars is well-done. It is called "a neat trap" by the story.
Sandy is blindfolded by the Gang, so he won't know the location of their headquarters. Being blindfolded while also dressed up in his sharp uniform has a certain kick. The blindfold is echoed by the leather harness of his Sam Browne belt.
We get the first look at the Purple Tiger, at the tale's end.
This modest tale is my favorite of the Purple Tiger series. As described above, it is full of nice touches. And the sexist subplot about Doris that hurts some other episodes, is not mentioned.
The tale perhaps reflects elements of the zeitgeist:
This story is a serial, consisting of six episodes, each two pages long. Two pages was the standard size of all the early Radio Squad tales.
The first episode looks at police corruption. The final sixth episode dramatizes civic corruption.
INFLUENCE OF "FURY". One wonders if Siegel has been watching Fritz Lang's film Fury (1936). Similarities:
THE PHOTOGRAPHER. I liked Hal the newspaper photographer in Part 5. He is well characterized, even though seen in just two pages. His loud sports coat recalls Ralph Ventor in Federal Men; Ventor had debuted the year before, 1936.
Hal is in a loud checked sports jacket and small bow tie, like the unnamed newspaper photographer in "The Maniac and the Cameraman" (1936). A similar outfit is worn by the newspaper photographer "Scoop" Hanlon in "The Lovers' Lane Caper" (#35, September 1938). Despite their similarities in dress, the three men in these tales have three different faces, and seem to be three different characters.
Harry Owens Makes the Grade (1937). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Joe Shuster. The latest addition to the police force is Harry Owens, a young aspiring radio singer. This story is rich in comedy. Detective Slam Bradley was frequently going undercover in various forms of show business. This story has no undercover work, but it does have a little of the same feel: a policeman who aspires to enter radio. This "two profession" paradigm would make rich effects in Siegel's undercover tales.
There is something irresistibly comic about Siegel's inclusion in this story of "Too Marvelous for Words", a real life hit song introduced in the movie Ready, Willing and Able (1937). The movie had delirious choreography by Bobby Connolly, and it still has an aura of camp clinging to it today. It is also a delightful song.
What's the matter, Kean? (1938). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Joe Shuster. It's honest Police Captain Toth's birthday - but the Commissioner might fire him as a scapegoat. Simple but satisfying little anecdote. This tale is memorable for its warmth, and for celebrating virtues like friendship, decency and loyalty.
THE UNIFORM. Sandy Kean looks especially sharp in action (last panel of page 1). Hero Sandy Kean gets a sharper uniform than anyone else, in Shuster's art. He and his partner wear snazzy Sam Browne belts, but the Captain doesn't. And Sandy's police cap has a higher peak and a more aggressive visor than either his partner's or the Captain's (in most illustrations). You can find similar things on TV shows: See the episode Murder by Friendly Fire (1996) of the TV series Diagnosis Murder, where star Barry Van Dyke gets the best police cap. The star always gets the best clothes!
Ramsey Jewelry Company (1938). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Joe Shuster. Unexpected events happen when Sandy and Larry chase jewelry store robbers. This story manages to work in a mystery plot, despite being only two pages long (the regular length of all early Radio Squad tales).
The Cut Rate Store Robbery (1938). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Joe Shuster. Sandy and Larry get radio-called to an out-of-the-way store.
Oddly, this tale appeared in the same issue as another Radio Squad tale, "Ramsey Jewelry Company". Both stories contain:
The Stolen Radio Car (1938). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Joe Shuster. As a prank Sandy and Larry steal a rival officer's radio patrol car, but complications ensue. Nice little story with unexpected plot developments.
Sandy does some good detective work in the finale of this tale. This recalls some Federal Men tales emphasizing detection, such as "Gang Smasher" (1936), "The Case of the Cinema Killing" (1937) and "The Stolen Stamp" (1937), and the Spy tale "The Colossus Disaster" (1937).
Car Stealing on Increase (#50, December 1939). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Matt Bailey. Sandy and Larry go after some auto thieves. This is a routine story. But it does have a good line of dialogue. The Police Chief is chewing out his men for their failure to capture the car thieves. Chief: "What are you, Policemen, or chorus boys wearing uniforms?" This is typical of Siegel's gift for humorous sarcasm, often with at least a grain of truth. It also shows Siegel's love of show business.
We also learn here that Sandy Kean and his partner Larry Trent share an apartment. This is also true of Siegel's other series heroes, Slam Bradley and Shorty Morgan.
The Bank Robbery (1940). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Martin Wheeler. Valuables keep disappearing from locked and guarded vaults. This is a nicely done impossible crime tale. The solution is a bit more simplistic than in the great prose mystery impossible crime tales, but it is still a pleasant story.
Siegel only gradually works up to the impossible crime situation, and he offers a varied series of circumstances surrounding the thefts throughout the story. This adds to complexity of the mystery, and keeps the reader guessing about the solution to the events. Eventually, during the Silver Age, a comic book aesthetic would emerge, that suggested that writers should include every possible variation and plot twist that could be built on a story's central situation. Most Golden Age tales are not that rigorous, but this story is pointing in the Silver Age direction.
Martin Wheeler has his heroes in exceptionally dressy police uniforms, which include a white shirt and tie. The classy looking uniforms have something of the same dressy, authoritative, clean cut look as airplane pilots' uniforms. The uniforms have huge peaked caps, with giant, shiny black visors that come down over the heroes' eyes.
Here our heroes are driving police car K7. This number will change in later stories, those written after Siegel left the series.
Phony Cops (1940). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Chad Grothkopf. Fake cops stage a bank robbery, but young newspaper boy Willie spots a clue. This story is quite detailed in its imagining how a group of crooks could impersonate cops. Siegel's heroes often go undercover in new roles; here it is the crooks who do so. There are also some elements of show business in the background: never too far away in a Siegel story.
The tale emphasizes solid detective work, both by young Willie, and by Larry and Sandy. There are also some small mysteries for the police, and the reader, to solve.
The story is notable for its inclusion of some non-stereotyped minority characters. Willie, who is white, has a black friend his own age. And a show biz type later in the tale is possibly a gay man. Willie and his friend both look working class or poor; they point ahead to the tales about slum kids that Siegel would include in Radio Squad in 1941.
The characters and plot events here recall those of Raoul Walsh's silent movie, Regeneration (1915). Both works include:
By this time Larry Trent is as important a figure in the series as Sandy Kean. The two men have completely equal billing in the series. They dress alike, in spiffy police uniforms, and in fact are hard to tell apart in many of the panels. This sort of equality is fairly rare in Golden Age comics, where one man usually has the lead. So it is not too surprising that Larry would be the one to get a girl friend.
The Melting Pot (1941). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Fred Ray. Larry Trent helps show slum kids that a local crook is not a person to be admired or emulated. Sequel to "The Excursion Boat Fire" in the previous issue. This story continues the encounter between Larry Trent and Lorna Drake.
Siegel shows here how slums can breed crime in poor kids. This was a familiar theme in movies of the era, such as the Dead End Kids series. Superman had also worked with slum kids, in XXX. Movies often dealt with the same theme as this tale: whether local kids will admire the police or criminals.
Larry Trent and Sandy Keene are patrolling their beat when suddenly a speeding sedan roars past (1941). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: ? The Radio Squad heroes get involved in odd events. This tale is untitled; it is identified by its first line instead.
The tale eventually develops anti-Nazi commentary.
The splash panel is unusual for its minimalism. Unlike most splash panels, it tells nothing about the upcoming story. Instead it is a simple portrait of Larry Trent and Sandy Keene. The uniformed heroes are in front of a cityscape filled with phallic skyscrapers. Both Larry Trent and Sandy Keene look like giants on the splash. This splash could be put at the start of any Radio Squad tale ever written.
The tale has excellent, macho portraits of the heroes throughout.
Murder Plunge (1941). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Fred Ray. A mercy ship about to leave the USA with aid for England is attacked by crooks. This tale was published during a time when England was fighting Nazi Germany, but the United States had not yet entered the war. Siegel's sympathy with the English side is very evident here. The story reflects the political and social commentary Siegel was including in the Radio Squad tales in 1941.
Naval and dockside stories of all types were popular in early comic books. Even series that did not specialize in such material, such as Radio Squad, included them in their cases.
This story has a lot of nice detail. Sandy Kean shines at the end with some good detective work.
Fred Ray does a good job with the uniforms, both the Radio Squad police uniforms, and those of the British naval officer. The portrait of the police (page 2) is especially outstanding.
The Case of the D.A.'s Daughter (1941). Writer: Jerry Siegel. Art: Fred Ray. A gangster hurt by the D.A.'s anti-gambling crusade, frames his daughter. The last Radio Squad tale signed by Jerry Siegel. It returns to the anti-gambling theme of Siegel's early "The Dan Bowers Case" (1937).
The scheme against the D.A.'s Daughter has a perverse quality. And is the most interesting part of the story. It seems to be the only Radio Squad tale with a man wearing white tie and tails. And it's the scheming criminal, not heroes Larry or Sandy.
The later parts of the story are mainly weak.
This is another Radio Squad tale with a minimalist splash panel: just a portrait of the two heroes.
Gangdom runs riot in the higher circles of art (More Fun Comics #71, September 1941). Writer: ?. Art: Chad Grothkopf. "Gangdom runs riot in the higher circles of art" is the first Radio Squad tale with art by Chad Grothkopf. It is also the first Radio Squad tale without known participation by writer Jerry Siegel.
The Police Commissioner (page 1) breaks precedents. One is used to seeing Commissioners as dignified men in good suits, who present an upscale image. However, the Commissioner is this story is a vulgar-looking man in an odd uniform, smoking a big cigar. I'm not claiming this is good - but it is different.
Sandy and Larry's uniforms attempt to be dressy, but they are not outstanding either. At least the two look neat and well-groomed. Best feature: a close-up of their uniform shoe, which is impressively styled and shiny. The shoe is part of the tradition of lace-up clothes in comics.
Grothkopf will soon have a close-up of a cowboy boot in "Murder Takes the Spotlight" (page 2), and riding boots in "The Case of the Dead Thoroughbred" (page 4).
A fabulous ruby stolen from a bank vault (More Fun Comics #72, October 1941). Writer: ?. Art: Chad Grothkopf. "A fabulous ruby stolen from a bank vault" is the first line of this tale without a title. The mystery of how the ruby was stolen is the best part of this otherwise not-very-good tale. The mystery borders on an impossible crime.
The tale suffers badly from the racist stereotyping of its villains.
Murder Takes the Spotlight (1941). Writer: ?. Art: Chad Grothkopf. Crooks attack a rodeo when it visits New York City. Title provided by Grand Comics Database, based on a phrase in the splash panel. This little story may not be brilliant, but it is fun to read. It has a lot of incident, first at the rodeo itself, then at the apartment building where the rodeo members are staying.
Chad Grothkopf does a good job with the cowboy outfit of rodeo owner and champion rider Sparky Sanders. It includes a checkerboard shirt, all covered with squares in alternating colors, and pants with a stripe along side, as well as a big cowboy hat. The shirt gives an Op Art effect to many of the panels. Sparky's cowboy boots get a close-up (page 2): they are full of beautiful curved surfaces and edges. Our police heroes are in full uniform throughout the story. There is much male bonding going on between the cowboy and the cops.
The story has a party-like festive atmosphere. Grothkopf has included several views of New York City buildings, including the apartment building and the fire escapes going up and down its side (page 5).
Grothkopf systematically uses different kinds of art: silhouettes, overhead angles, tilted angles.
The apartment house front desk is curved (page 4). So is the marquee in front of the apartment building (page 5). A number of full moon images add more circles.
The Case of the Dead Thoroughbred (1941). Writer: ?. Art: Chad Grothkopf. A rich man's racehorse is mysteriously killed. This tale lacks plot brilliance. But its profusion of incident and atmospheric art make for good reading.
A mention of Westchester indicates the story is set in the greater New York City area (top right panel on page 2).
INFORMATION. The police call boxes are an interesting kind of information technology. They flash when a call comes through (page 2).
SPLASH. The splash panel shows a well-done action scene in a stable. But oddly, the scene doesn't seem to be in the actual story.
ART. The first two-thirds of the story takes place at night (pages 1-4). This section includes many of Grothkopf's evocative cityscapes and views of architecture.
Grothkopf uses many different approaches, such as overhead views and low-angle views. A tilted image also includes a view through a window (first panel of page 4).
Circles include:
COSTUMES. There is a close-up of a stablehand's tall riding boots (last panel of page 4). The stablehand also wears flared riding breeches. Soon, in "The Radio Robber" the police heroes will have flared breeches as part of their uniform.
We see the police heroes in several stages of being partly dressed. This too systematically adds variety to the art.
Mighty trucks rumble through the night (1942). Writer: ?. Art: Chad Grothkopf. A fleet of vans are involved with a large robbery of valuable silk.
SCIENTIFIC DETECTION. The police investigation involves lab work (page 3). The tale can be seen as a case of scientific detection.
The police M.O. Cards (Modus Operandi cards) play a role in this too (page 3). They will return in the next tale "The Radio Robber".
SPOILERS. The fact that he heroes' police car has two-way radio, plays a big role (page 5).
ART. Grothkopf's nocturnal cityscapes are featured, especially in the second half of the story (pages 4-6).
An usually large number of views are tilted. One panel combines tilting with a view through a window: a Grothkopf combination (middle left panel on page 3).
COSTUMES. A crook's checkerboard hat gives an Op Art effect (page 2). Close-ups and long views of the cap show it with subtly different patterning: an odd effect.
The Radio Robber (1942). Writer: ?. Art: Chad Grothkopf. A criminal breaks into police radio broadcasts, and sends out rhymed clues to his forthcoming crimes. The tale is untitled; "The Radio Robber" is a phrase used in the story to describe the villain.
This is a logically constructed little mystery story. Its plot anticipates parts of Anthony Mann's film noir, He Walked By Night (1948). Like many of the stories in the Radio Squad series, it centers on the mystique of radio.
The villain recalls a little bit the Joker in Batman, although he dresses fairly normally, and is not grotesque the way the Joker is. The Joker often gives advance clues to his crimes. SPOILERS. The use of laughing gas at one point by the criminal also recalls the Joker. The combination of laughing gas and uniformed men is memorably perverse.
The police vehicle driven by Sandy Kean and his partner Larry Trent is Car 54. This anticipates the later TV comedy series, Car 54 Where Are You? (1961-1963). One suspects that the Radio Squad tales were widely read in their day, and influenced some later depictions of the police in the mass media.
INFORMATION. The M.O. Cards are a good piece of police procedure (page 4). They show how information was organized in those pre-computer days. The insurance company is also maintaining information systematically. Both of these sources anticipate modern databases in their contents and approaches, although not in their technology.
ART. Chad Grothkopf's art uses a wide range of techniques. There are silhouettes, close-ups, uniformed men seen from the back, scenes with elaborate architecture, a view through a window, a tilted view, overhead views, scenes with people but no background, etc. This is a systematic choice: something Chad Grothkopf is doing systematically. Some Hollywood filmmakers also systematically use multiple approaches and angles.
Some nocturnal mood pieces are vivid. These involve buildings and cityscapes.
Circles are used in the splash, and in the vault with its round door.
UNIFORMS. Chad Grothkopf has elaborate police uniforms. These include a leather harness, flared trousers and high leather boots (splash panel). Their very high-peaked caps have shiny black visors, sometimes used to hid their eyes (top of page 2). Throughout the series, Sandy and Larry are always slicked up to the max. This gives them "presence" in the stories.
These tales are scientific detection.
The splash says this tale is set in New York City.
Many comic book tales show a police desk sergeant type at an elevated desk, authoritatively handling criminals and the police. "The Blackout Burglary" has one of the highest and biggest such desks. It really looks authoritative. The desk also has two green lamps, a symbol of the police in the United States.
The new artist has once again changed the police uniforms. This is a Radio Squad tradition: every new artist develops somewhat different uniforms. The uniforms are always sharp, and dressy to the max. They tend to be always blue, the preferred color of police uniforms in this era, and a symbol of authority. The artist has emphasized the physicality of his policemen. They are big men, with broad shoulders. They are often shown in dynamic physical activity. A panel (page 5) depicting an officer jumping over a railing is especially outstanding. The artist often shows his policemen full figure. This emphasizes both their physique, and shows all details of their uniforms.
The Case of the Phantom Fugitive (1942). Writer: ?. Art: Cliff Young. Sandy Kean and Larry Trent chase a young man who has confessed to the kidnapping of a banker's daughter. This story too has a well constructed mystery plot. As in "The Radio Robber" (1942), there are some unexpected plot developments.
The banker's grown daughter Lois Hart shows dignity and courage. This is typical of the comic books of this era, in which the women characters were usually gutsy and intelligent.
In Golden Age comics, the good guys tend to be all handsome, and the bad guys ugly. So the good looks of the young man, Joe Leeds, being chased here are a clue.
ARCHITECTURE. This story has exciting scenes in underground passages beneath the city: in this it resembles "Hook, Line and Thinker" (1942). Both stories involve thrilling and clever escapes for their policeman heroes. There are also pleasant appearances of technology in the underground passages here.
The later Radio Squad tales tend to be highly urban. Both the early scenes, involving a nocturnal chase over deserted buildings, and the later under the city passages, are big city in tone.
The Case of the Storm Raiders (1942). Writer: ?. Art: Cliff Young. Crooks who simulate lightning-strikes commit robberies.
SPOILERS. This tale shows the personal affection between heroes Sandy Kean and Larry Trent.
Hook, Line and Thinker (1942). Writer: ?. Art: Cliff Young. The squad deals with a gang of crooks who use a sound truck to cover up robberies, and who can jam radio broadcasts. This tale has a lively plot, with a good deal of inventive incident. It is full of material on the technology of the day. A fascination with radio technology would also permeate the stories about super-hero Air Wave, whose powers stem from a series of radio inventions he has perfected.
Sound trucks are not much seen today, but they were widely used in the 1940's to advertise, especially in elections. They were most useful in an era in which large number of people were concentrated in urban areas. Pedestrians walking down city streets would hear everything a sound truck broadcast.
The tale makes a cogent point about technology: "That's the trouble with elaborate devices -- sometimes they backfire!"
The artist has done a good job with the police uniforms, especially the uniform caps.